Celebrity Gossips

This post was written by MJ on 27th Mar, 2003

And now for the really important news:She comes from dire poverty in a backwards, superstitious part of the country; she’s sold a butt-load of albums, more than any other woman, ever; she’s likely dominated by a Svengali-like manager. And now she’s opened a show in Vegas.

Sure, Celine Dion has more than a couple similarities to Elvis Presley, as a friend pointed out to me last night. But she’s no King. Nor Queen.

Still, like Elvis in his later Vegas years there’s no shortage of, um, strange things to ponder. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Musically, Dion’s voice is a miracle. Technically, the show is over-miked and therefore, coupled with the power of her voice, overbearing. To forestall the deadly “Vegas throat” that has closed many a show (Dolly Parton’s famous defection several years ago, for instance), the production team has created a humidified atmosphere — almost a moisture tunnel — to surround Dion onstage.”

“Of all the musical numbers, three stand out as superior. First, and inexplicably, Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” (why a cropped-haired, blond woman from French Canada sings about being a “nappy-headed boy” is beyond comprehension) was the most successful.”

“She also performed “Seduce Me,” in which Dion tried to out-Madonna Madonna. Surrounded by topless boy dancers, she sang seated in a leather armchair with her feet planted stolidly out front, while her boy toys rubbed themselves all over her. With her boyish new haircut and ice-pick-thin angularity, the last thing Dion is is sexy. If this show is going to succeed in a Vegas that has started to lean decidedly back to skin shows, the producers are going to have to figure out how to sizzle up their G-rated star. “Seduce Me” is not the answer.”